2026 Kentucky Minimum Wage
The 2026 Kentucky Minimum Wage is $7.25.
Effective 2026-01-01Source: State Minimum Wage Laws (DOL)Verified 2026-09-01
Compared with 2025
Every figure on this page is unchanged from 2025.
| Item | 2025 | 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hourly | $7.25 | $7.25 | +$0 (+0.0%) |
Who it applies to
Employers and employees in Kentucky covered by the state minimum wage law. The Department of Labor attaches no employer-size condition to the rate and names no exclusion from coverage. The entry adds a clause tying the rate to the federal one: the state adopts the federal minimum wage rate by reference if the federal rate is greater than the State rate. It also records a weekly premium pay threshold, a separate seventh-day overtime law, and compensating time in lieu of overtime for employees of certain county and urban-county governments. The table does not display subminimum rates for minors, students or trainees, or any higher rate set by a local government.
What changed this year, and why
The U.S. Department of Labor's table of state minimum wage laws, updated July 1, 2026, lists Kentucky's basic minimum rate as $7.25 per hour. The Kentucky entry records no dated step later in the year and no annual adjustment formula; what it does record beyond the rate is an overtime threshold, a seventh-day rule and a compensating-time provision. No earlier year of this record is published here, so this page states no year-over-year change.
Common questions
- What is the minimum wage in Kentucky in 2026?
- It is $7.25 per hour. That is the basic minimum rate the U.S. Department of Labor lists for Kentucky in its State Minimum Wage Laws table, in the version updated July 1, 2026. The figure published here is read from that entry and from nothing else, so it reflects the state rate as the department recorded it on that date.
- Does Kentucky follow the federal minimum wage rate?
- The department's Kentucky entry states that the state adopts the federal minimum wage rate by reference if the federal rate is greater than the State rate. The rate the table lists for Kentucky, $7.25 per hour, is the same amount the same table gives as the current federal minimum wage in its entries for states with no minimum wage law of their own.
- What is Kentucky's 7th day overtime law?
- The department describes it as separate from the minimum wage law. It requires employers who permit covered employees to work seven days in any one workweek to pay the employee at a rate of time and one-half for hours worked on the seventh day, when employees work all seven days of the workweek. The entry adds that the law does not apply when the employee is not permitted to work more than the stated weekly hours total.
- Does Kentucky require overtime pay after designated hours?
- The table's Kentucky entry carries a premium pay after designated hours line, and what it names there is a weekly threshold and the seventh day. It states no daily threshold, which the same table does state for some other jurisdictions. The hour counts themselves are part of the table's own wording rather than the verified figure published on this page.
- Can Kentucky county employees take compensating time instead of overtime pay?
- The entry records that compensating time in lieu of overtime is allowed upon written request by an employee of any county, charter county, consolidated local government, or urban-county government, including an employee of a county-elected official. The written request is the condition the department states, and the provision is written for those government employers rather than for employers generally.
- Does the Kentucky minimum wage change again during 2026?
- The Department of Labor's table lists no scheduled change for Kentucky and no annual adjustment formula for it. The entry carries a single basic minimum rate with no dated step attached. A change taking effect after the table's July 1, 2026 update would not appear here until the department republishes the table and this record is verified against it again.
- Is there a separate tipped minimum wage in Kentucky?
- The Department of Labor's state table lists one basic minimum rate per hour for Kentucky and no separate cash wage for tipped employees, so this page does not publish one. The same table states plainly that differential provisions are not displayed in it, naming subminimum rates for minors and students and training wages for new hires as its own examples.
- Where does the $7.25 figure for Kentucky come from?
- From the Wage and Hour Division's State Minimum Wage Laws table at dol.gov, in the snapshot captured for this record, where the Kentucky entry gives the basic minimum rate per hour as $7.25. The division notes on the same page that it tries to ensure the information is accurate and that individuals should consult the relevant state labor office for official information.
Every amount on this page is a published figure rather than yours. The Minimum wage pay calculator takes the number you enter and works it out against them, showing which published figure it used.
Minors, students and training wages: who may be paid less than the rate on this page
The $7.25 federal minimum wage is not the lowest hourly figure every employer may pay. Many states allow employers to pay certain workers less than the full minimum rate - typically minors, students, or newly hired employees during a short training period. Some states go further and exempt these groups from the minimum wage entirely. Because each state sets its own subminimum and training-wage rules, the actual floor for a teenage worker, a student employee, or a new hire can differ from the number shown on this page. Employers who want to use a subminimum rate must follow the conditions their state labor agency publishes, such as age limits, the maximum number of hours that qualify, or the length of the training period. Workers and employers who are unsure whether a lower rate applies to a particular job should check directly with the relevant state labor office rather than assume the federal or statewide minimum applies to every employee.
Some states set subminimum rates for minors and/or students or exempt them from coverage or have a training wage for new hires.
State Minimum Wage Laws (DOL)
When a city or county sets a higher minimum wage
A city, county, or other local government can set a minimum wage that is higher than the state minimum wage shown on this page. When a local rate is higher, employers covered by that local law must pay the local rate to workers within the local jurisdiction - the state figure on this page is not the floor in those areas. Because local minimum wage ordinances vary widely and change frequently, the table on this page does not list them. Workers and employers who need to know the correct rate for a specific city or county should look up the local ordinance or contact the local government directly. The Wage and Hour Division does not enforce local minimum wage laws; those are administered by the locality itself. In places with more than one applicable minimum wage, workers are generally entitled to the highest rate available among the federal, state, and local laws that cover them.
Some local governments set minimum wage rates higher than their respective state minimum wage. Such differential provisions are not displayed in this table.
State Minimum Wage Laws (DOL)
Overtime is paid at one and one-half times the regular rate
Where a state table entry lists a premium-pay rule, the standard overtime premium rate is one and one-half times the employee's regular rate of pay, unless the entry specifically notes a different multiplier. That means for each hour worked beyond the threshold shown in the entry, the employee must receive at least the regular hourly rate plus an additional half of that regular rate for the overtime hour. A few states trigger the premium on a daily basis rather than only after a full workweek; the entry for each state shows which rule applies. The footnote applies to every state whose entry mentions premium pay, so the regular rate must be calculated first and then multiplied by the overtime factor stated in the footnote to find the minimum overtime hourly rate owed for those hours.
Footnote 1 The overtime premium rate is one and one-half times the employee's regular rate, unless otherwise specified.
State Minimum Wage Laws (DOL)
Who to ask about this rate, and where to take a wage complaint
The Wage and Hour Division publishes the table as a reference, but it is not the final word on what a worker is owed under any particular state's law. Individuals who need a definitive answer about their state's current rate, its exemptions, or its overtime rules should consult the relevant state labor office for official information. That office is the proper place to confirm the figures before making payroll decisions or filing a wage complaint about a state-law violation. For questions about the federal minimum wage, or to file a complaint under the Fair Labor Standards Act, the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division can be reached by telephone or through its website. State and federal contacts each handle their own set of rules, so choose the one that matches the law at issue.
The Wage and Hour Division tries to ensure that the information on this page is accurate, but individuals should consult the relevant state labor office for official information.
State Minimum Wage Laws (DOL)
Why the federal rate applies when the state rate is lower
Kentucky does not keep its minimum wage independent of the federal one: state law takes the federal figure by reference where the federal rate is the higher of the two. The rate on this page is $7.25 an hour, and it moves when the federal minimum moves rather than when Kentucky legislates. That is worth knowing for two reasons. It means no Kentucky bill is needed for your rate to rise - a federal increase reaches you automatically. And it means an employer cannot pay less by pointing at a lower state figure, because there is no lower state figure to point at. Where a state rate is the higher one, the state rate is what applies; that is simply not the position in Kentucky today.
The state adopts the federal minimum wage rate by reference if the federal rate is greater than the State rate.
State Minimum Wage Laws (DOL)
How each figure was verified
Each number below was read from a stored copy of the document named beside it, and checked to occur word for word in the quoted sentence. The digest is of that stored text.
State Minimum Wage Laws (DOL)
- Hourly
Kentucky Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $7.25
Other years
Every Kentucky Minimum Wage year · Minimum Wage in every state